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John Whitmore
|birth = 16/8/1937 |debut = St. Mary's Trophy 1961 |champs = 1 (1961) |wins = 15 |teams = Don Moore Cooper Car Co. Team Lotus|entries = 28}} Sir John Henry Douglas Whitmore is a former British Touring Car Championship champion and class winner, most famously taking the Mini to its first championship triumph in 1961. Whitmore raced in the BTCC from 1961 until 1966, before retiring to become a sports psychologist.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Whitmore_(racing_driver) Background Whitmore made his name in motorsport by funding his own drive in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959, partnering future BTCC rival Jim Clark to second in class. Whitmore continued to race in the 24 Hours until 1966, while in 1960, he entered the Formula 2 championship, with a best finish of third in the Lombank Trophy.http://www.driverdb.com/drivers/sir-john-whitmore/ BTCC History Whitmore decided to drive in the British Saloon Car Championship in 1961, when he was offered a drive by Don Moore. In his debut year, despite having missed the opening round, Whitmore took the BSCC crown with a round to spare, taking four class wins.http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1961%20BSCC.html His drive impressed the designers of the Mini, who had decided to enter a factory based team for the following year, running three brand new Mini Coopers.http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1962%20BSCC.html Unfortunately, Whitmore found himself frequently losing out to team mate John Love, often finishing in second, meaning he finished a lowly eighth in the title hunt. 1963 saw the Cooper Car Co. retain Whitmore's services and saw him prove the potential of the new Mini Cooper S.http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1963%20BSCC.html Eight straight wins looked to have earned Whitmore his second title, however his failure to enter the penultimate round of the season gave Jack Sears the advantage going into the final round. Whitmore needed Sears to finish third or lower (while he won his class) to take the title and, while he did win, Sears recorded a victory in his class resulting in Sears' second BSCC title. Between 1964 and 66, Whitmore would only appear in the championship as a reserve driver for Team Lotus. Using a Lotus Cortina, Whitmore recorded one further victory and two podiums. 1966 also saw Whitmore take a Ford Falcon Spirit to victory, racing on behalf of Alan Mann Racing. Whitmore retired from racing at the end of that season. BTCC Record A table containing 's best results in the BTCC. The figures after the information about the car used indicate 's best finish at that meeting. |R1 = Dash |R2 = P1 |R3 = P1 |R4 = P2 |R5 = P3 |R6 = P2 |R7 = PRet |R8 = P1 |R9 = P1}} |R1 = P2 |R2 = PRet |R3 = P2 |R4 = P2 |R5 = P2 |R6 = P3 |R7 = Dash |R8 = Dash}} |R1 = P4 |R2 = P1 |R3 = P1 |R4 = P1 |R5 = P1 |R6 = P1 |R7 = P1 |R8 = P1 |R9 = P1 |R10 = Dash |R11 = P1}} |R1 = Dash |R2 = Dash |R3 = P2 |R4 = Dash |R5 = Dash |R6 = Dash |R7 = Dash |R8 = Dash}} |Position = |R1 = Dash |R2 = PRet |R3 = Dash |R4 = Dash |R5 = Dash |R6 = Dash |R7 = Dash |R8 = Dash}} |R1 = Dash |R2 = Dash |R3 = P1 |R4 = Dash |R5 = P1 |R6 = Dash |R7 = Dash |R8 = Dash}} |} References Category:Drivers Category:Champions